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Forget record tokens and a competitive interest rate - there's a bank in Michigan that will give you a free gun if you open an account. But laughs turn to tears on a daily basis in the States, where the incidence of death by gunshot wounds has escalated to epidemic proportions. Investigative filmmaker Michael Moore's heartfelt documentary - as entertaining as it is politically damning - looks deep into America's love affair with firearms.

Guns aren't just part of daily life in the States; they're a legal part of the Constitution.

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And this - combined with an ingrained fear of enemies without and within - is a fatal attraction. Moore's arguments are passionate and factually sound, but he's never dry. At his best, he embraces the absurdity of a given situation, twisting it in on itself, shaming the callous and greedy into facing up to their responsibilities. For example, in a genius move, he takes a wheelchair-bound victim of the Columbine High School shooting - a boy who has inoperable bullets lodged in his body - to the headquarters of K-mart, the company who supplied the ammunition so readily over the counter to the teenage killers.

The boy is only, Moore contends, returning their merchandise. The supermarket chain's reaction is a surprise for both audience and filmmaker, as thrilling a cinematic experience as many a clever plot twist. As ever, Moore gets a foot in the door using a combination of intelligence, research and charisma, before playing the emotional card.

Moore never forgets that all of these political debates and legal details have a tragic, personal cost. As Heston slinks off, we realise it may be impossible to watch Ben-Hur in the same light again. Movies 30 10 Movies 28 03 Movies 10 03 Movies 20 12